New Bern is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 34,218 people and 14 associated neighborhoods, New Bern is the 32nd largest community in North Carolina. Much of the housing stock in New Bern was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local New Bern economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in New Bern, where the median household income is $61,031.00.

New Bern is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around New Bern, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town.

Also of interest is that New Bern has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.80% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

New Bern is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

The education level of New Bern citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 29.40% of adults in New Bern have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in New Bern in 2022 was $38,196, which is upper middle income relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $152,784 for a family of four. However, New Bern contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

New Bern is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call New Bern home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of New Bern residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in New Bern include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scottish.

The most common language spoken in New Bern is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Other Asian languages.